Solomons declares disaster as quake toll hits 28

Honiara, Apr 4: The Solomon Islands has declared a disaster in two provinces hit hardest by an earthquake and tsunami as the death toll climbed to 28 and aid workers issued a plea for tents and supplies for thousands of homeless people.

''The casualties will still go up and also the reported deaths will still go up,'' Solomon Islands Red Cross Secretary General Charles Kelly told Australian radio today.

''I think the thing right now is water, water and tents.

People are still up in the bush and are reluctant to go back to the villages.'' As aftershocks continued, the first disaster assessment teams reached hard-hit Western and Choiseul Provinces in the South Pacific island nation on Wednesday, two days after the magnitude 8 quake and tsunami that destroyed villages and drove residents into the hills in panic.

Thousands of houses were destroyed by the quake and tsunami, with coastal areas inundated with water and homes sucked into the sea. Officials fear disease outbreaks, including malaria.

Solomons Home Affairs Minister Bernard Giro declared on Tuesday a disaster as rescuers struggled to reach remote coastal villages with no road access.

Kelly warned sanitation problems were emerging in hilltop refugee camps and an estimated 5,400 people left homeless should return home, despite strong aftershocks and fears of more quakes.

''It's safe now to go back to the village, but you know people are still traumatised and are still up in the bush, but slowly some of them are going back,'' Kelly said.

Solomons police set up a command post near Munda village in Western Province, which had an undamaged airstrip, as a team of six doctors and 13 nurses left the capital Honiara.

International peacekeepers, stationed in the country following communal violence in 2003, evacuated several injured people to hospital in the capital Honiara.

A six-member United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination is on the way to the Solomons and officials estimated at least 1,000 homes had been destroyed.

''Public health experts are warning of the potential danger of malaria outbreaks among the displaced population,'' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

Mosquito nets and insecticide sprays were being given to the homeless and aid agencies such as Doctors Without Borders were also on the way.

The United States promised money for shelter, water and sanitation in the worst hit areas. Australia has offered 1.6 million dollars in aid.

New Zealand offered 360,000 dollars and an air force Hercules laden with supplies, including water containers, blankets, tarpaulins, food and lamps was expected on Wednesday.

''I think this is going to be a long time before rehabilitation because some of the schools are also affected, some of the schools are closed, and the clinics are also washed away,'' Kelly said.

The Solomon Islands is a popular destination for divers but most residents live on subsistence agriculture with less than a quarter having paid jobs.

The Solomon Islands lie on the so-called Pacific ''Ring of Fire'' where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.

Reuters